north korea? in the past it has been the u.n. security council passes resolutions and sanctions, but up until this point that simply does not work, north korea continues. >> paula hancocks reporting about the activity in north korea this evening. thank you for joining us this evening. now our live coverage is goint to continue with von vause in los angeles. good night, everyone. >> we begin with breaking news out of north korea. i'm john vause out of los angeles. a test of a hydrogen bomb registered a magnitude of 5.1. north korea has only tested less powerful plutonium bombs. it said it's protected its

sovereignty. the test means a higher stage of the dprk's development of the nuclear force by suck succeeding the h-bomb test in the most perfect manner in history the dprk proudly joined the advanced ranks of nuclear weapons states. the prime minister sshinzo abe referred to the test as a threat to japan's security. they clearly lated the security council's resolutions adding it's a serious challenge to the nuclear nonproliferation efforts. in seoul following this breaking news with more. paula, just walk us through for people just tuning in. how did this aun unfold? and to be honest, this may have been a surprise to us, but certainly the north koreans telegraphed this could have happened. >> this happened at 10:00 a.m. local time.

so about four hours or so now. the north koreans giving that statement, saying that they have succe successfully tested a hydrogen nuclear device. we don't know at this point whether or not it was successful. it could take days before we have the indication whether or not he's successful. they have consistently used the u.s. in what they consider a hostile country in the u.s. to justify what they are doing with these missile and these nuclear tests. they say they have a legal right to defend their country. and if the u.s. does not violate north korean sovereignty, we will not use nuclear weapons. now, the condemnation is already coming in. we heard, as you said, from japan's shinzo abe saying it's a threat to japan's security. in the past few minutes, we have heard from the south korean side as well. there's a national security council meeting ongoing at this

point. one official says they will cooperate with the regional powers to find out what they can do to make north korea pay a price for this. they say it is a clear violation of the united nations security council resolution. and they will figure out what they can do to try and condemn this. they say they'll take all necessary measures including further sanctions if necessary. but of course, we have seen these sanctions in the past. and up until this point, it has not stopped north korea from testing its nuclear weapons. john? >> i guess, paula, the big question is, why would the north koreans decide to detonate this nuclear device underground to test this hydrogen bomb at this point in time. we know they did indicate they had this hydrogen capability which is yet to be confirmed. but of course, the timing is the question. why now? >> yeah, it was back on december 10 of last year that kim jong-un said that north korea has the hydrogen bomb capability.

at the time, it was dismissed by many north korean observers. they said it was too big a jump in capability. of course, we don't know whether or not they do have this capability. that will be in the coming days that we'll be able to determine that. and then according to north korean state-run media, they said on december 15, kim jong-un signed the order to carry out this test. on january 3 of this year, so just three days ago, he signed that order and said this test should go ahead. the timing, of course, is very interesting. we've had relatively decent relations between north and soout korea, or the best it could be. we had those family reunions towards the end between north and south korean families who were split before the war. relations had been going fairly

well. we don't know why the north koreans took this time. we know that in two days' time, it is the leader kim jong-un's birthday. in the past, that hasn't been marked in any way since he took power. whether or not this is to mark his birthday, we simply don't know. but this has been some time in the making. the order for it, according to the north koreans, issued back on december 15. john? >> paula, thank you. paula hancox live in south korea. jim schutto joins me now live in washington. the u.s. not confirming this was any kind of underground nuclear test. that will take a number of days they say. but diplomatically, what are the options ndur if the americans? >> we do now have an official reaction from the white house. the national security council spokesman ned price saying that they are aware of what he refers to as seismic activity on north korean peninsula. he said they're still assessing

what exactly it was. and while they cannot confirm it was a nuclear test, they would condemn any violation of u.n. security council resolutions. it could take a number of days to confirm. and to verify the north korean claim it would be a hydrogen bomb. they claimed they have the capability to detonate a hydrogen bomb. and there are nuclear experts in the u.s. who say it's plausible north korea could have carried out a nuclear explosion and boosted it some way short of realizing the capability. but the direction of their program is toward development. it's something the u.s. takes very seriously. >> in terms of actually working

out what happened inside north korea just a couple of hours ago. how will the united states do that. >> an estimate of the yield. the digging of a tunnel in a mountainous area near one of the nuclear sites which is where they carried that underground explosion before. certainly look at satellite imagery. today you would have sat satellite assets that kwould detect other things on the ground. you also have surveillance planes in the area that can pick up indicators from the atmosphere. they could tell them what materials were used and they

piece all that together and then make a judgment. >> jim schutto on the line from washington. thank you so much. >> this is what we know about knot korean capability. experts believe they have enough plutonium for four to eight nuclear warheads. it's unknown how many nuclear devices it has beyond those it already tested. north korea has an arsenal of short and medium-range missiles and is work on longer range ballistic weapons. experts are unsure if they have the ability to mount a nuclear warhead on to a missile and target it effectively. a fellow at the u.s./china institute. also the author of "meltdown -- the inside story of the north korean nuclear crisis." he's with us now from hong kong. we've been down this road before. four other tests carried out by the north koreans. each time, the international

community, the japanese, the chinese, the south koreans, all try to work out how to make the north koreans pay a price so they don't it again. >> i think you're seeing the same scenario play out this time around. there will be condemnation. there will be resolutions at the u.n. security council. there will be some moves to ramp up sanctions. but in the end i would be very surprised. one reason is the chinese, they are certain to be very, very upset about what has happened. they're going to be pretty cautious about sanctions that might really cripple the regime or inflict enough pain to really force a change in behavior. from the american point of view, it's also a very, very tough decision because there are already pretty stringent sanctions in place. if the u.s. really wanted to try to hurt north korea economically, it would need to

target north korea's economic engagement with china, because there are chinese companies that are heavily involved in north korea, doing business in north korea, chinese banks dealing with north korea. but that would involve targeting chinese economic entities and that, of course, risks angering beijing. if those steps were taken it might really hurt the north korean economy, although it's enough to know whether it would prompt a change in behavior. but that raises a whole other can of worms in serms of sino-american relations. soin creased sanctions, based on everything we've seen in cent years, are unlikely to change north korea's behavior. and that raises the question of, is there also some kind of diplomacy talking to the north to try to at least freeze, if not roll back, the nuclear program. the ending its nuclear program

is the final goal. to freeze north capability and negotiation process at this point rather than allowing it to expand furtherer. but the flil process in the united states, barack obama under criticism for being weak and with the north koreans so difficult to deal with, that's unlikely as well. at the end of the day, i think the north is going to get away with it. they're going to remain in the driver's seat and everybody else is going to be reacting. >> mike, you would be a better expert on this than i am. but i recall about three or four years ago, the north koreans claiming they had hydrogen nuclear technology and they had this highly enriched uranium plant. i don't know if you recall that, but do you believe that the north koreans when they say they have developed this hydrogen bomb. do you believe they're capable of carrying out a hydrogen explosion? or have they, as some experts indicated, maybe just simply supersized the plutonium weapons they have?

>> the honest answer is we don't really know. but if you go back over the years, many times there have been miscalculations or misjudgments from outsiders about whether the north was really capable of doing this. and one reason frankly is that the north's image in the rest of the world often lends itself to satire, to people belittling the north's idiosyncrasies. the fact is they have a plutonium capability. there was a lot of skepticism, but in the end, it turned out they did have a uranium capability and it turns out they're working towards a hydrogen capability. we can't sitting here today confirm they have it, but there's no reason not to factor into one's calculations that that's the goal. anticipate, of course, each time there is a nuclear test, north korea nuclear scientists amass all kinds of data, additional knowledge that will allow them

to address problems or weaknesses in their program to improve it. and above all, the great fear is if the north continues to test and able to miniaturize a bomb and put it on a missile, and particularly with the north's develop of the mobile missiles, which could conceivably reach the continental united states, that becomes very, very worrying. >> mike, thank you. our chief asian correspondent here from cnn for many years who has valuable insights. thank you, mike. we go to the executive director of a foundation that aims to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons. he joins us now from san francisco. so phillip, what does north korea hope to gain by carrying out this nuclear test. >> well, i think what they want -- i think in certain ways they just want to show they have this capability. they feel like this is going to give them more bargaining position, greater leverage for

whatever discussions they assume will happen at some point once diplomacy and sanctions all go through. they know, as mike said earlier, nothing is probably going to change and we therefore have -- they have the ability -- eventually some kinds of talks and negotiations are going to have to occur. and they're going to, with this test, and continuing work that they're doing, going to have the capability of having greater leverage. >> so one of the issues for the international community now is how is north korean to be punished carrying out this nuclear test with sanctions. what's left here in terms of sanctions? this is one of the heaviest sanctioned countries in the world. >> there's very little at this point. i think the big thing right now is china. if china really wants to clamp down in certain ways, they can. i think, as was said earlier, there's very few options that we have at this point in time.

so we have a situation where north korea is trying to push on the front door. they're developing nuclear weapons and their missiles and there's nothing we can do at this point. >> phillip, thank you. and we have this just into cnn. diplomats have told us, the u.n. security council will hold a meetling on wednesday to discuss north korea's claims of a nuclear test. the u.s. and japan requested the special session. a short break here on cnn. when we come back, u.s. president barack obama making an emotional plea for gun control. just ahead, we'll see what brought the commander-in-chief to tears. i'm here at my house, on thanksgiving day and i have a massive heart attack right in my driveway. the doctor put me on a bayer aspirin regimen.

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japan's prime minister has condemned the test. the u.n. security council plans to meet wednesday morning to discuss this matter. >> president barack obama announced his plan to bolster gun control. surrounded by families of gun violence victims, the president teared up and slammed the lack of progress so far even after the mass shootings that seem to have become so prevalent in the united states. in his announcement, the president spelled out the executive actions he's planning on taking. >> we know we can't stop every act of violence, every act of evil in the world, but maybe we can try to stop one act of evil, one act of violence. let me outline what we're going to be doing. anybody in the business of

selling firearms must get a license and conduct background checks or be subject to criminal prosecutions. we're going to hire nor folks to process applications faster. we're going to do more suffering from mental illness to get the help they need. we're going to boost gun safety technology. if we can set it up so you can't unlock your phone until you have the right fingerprint, why can't we do the same thing for our guns. second amendment rights are important. there are other rights we care about as well. our inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, those rights were stripped from college kids in blacksburg and santa barbara. and from high schoolers in columbine. and from first graders in newtown. and from every family who never imagined that their loved one would be taken from their lives by a gun.

every time i think about those kids, it gets me mad. >> for president obama, the most emotional moment came when talking about the 20 first grade children who were shot dead in newtown, connecticut, in 2012. especially notable for a leader who's been described as times as being out of touch, cool and distant. monty frank is a lawyer who representing some of the families of the sandy hook massaer ker massac massacre. he joins us now from newtown. thanks for being with us. what was your reaction to the president's speech? and in particular when he was talking ability sandy hook? >> well, i think there wasn't a dry eye in sandy hook when the president was talking about the 20 beautiful children and six

educators, including one of my daughter's former teachers who were murdered at the school down the road from me. i'm amazed that this president has continued to care so much and continues to drive the effort to reduce gun violence, not only in places like i live, but all the other communities that have had joined the club that nobody wants to be a part of. and in places like chicago anticipate new york where gun violence is a daily routine. he continues to press and continues to energize sup poerts. this is a mauchl movement that's gaining momentum. it's just a matter of time before congress begins to act to the will of the american people.

are they looking for something a lot tougher. >> unfortunately there's only so much the president can constitutionally do. for allparents who lost loved ones, the commune tarity d them, and people all around the country, that action is only going to come when congress decides enough is enough and gets in line with what an overwhelming majority of americans want. >> some of the critics today have said what happened in the white house is more of a feel good rally rather than doing something that will actually make a difference. what are your thoughts on that? >> well, i wouldn't call it a feel-good rally. i think every step makes a

difference. the biggest step will be when congress acts. but for example, clarifying who has to conduct a background check. that's important. asking for more funds for mental health, that's important. putting more fbi agents in charge of conducting the background check, that's significant and important. trying to incentivize the industry to put into place smart gun technology, that's important. so all these measures have an effect. it's not the end of the road. i mean, again, meaningful change has to come from congress and at the state level. >> thanks for speaking with us today.

>> i can can tell you right now, those executive orders are not worth the paper you're printed on, because when you live by the pen, you die by the pen. and my pen has got an eraser. >> gun violence is committed by criminals. and criminals don't care what the law is. they violate it. that's why they're criminals. he's obsessed with undermining the second amendment. he's obsessed with burdening law abiding citizens who are going to follow the law no matter what it is. if he's serious about gun violence, he should focus on violence. not laws that do not to prevent gun violence. >> and the response from america's most prominent gun rights association is blunt. the american people do not need more emotional condescending lectures that are completely devoid of facts. president obama's proposals would not have prevented any of the horrific events he mentioned. the timing of this announcement demonstrates not only political

exploitation, but a fundamental lack of seriousness. please join cnn for a special look at guns in america with the u.s. president. ander son cooper hosts an exclusive hour-long town hall event. see it thursday night at 8:00 in washington. that's 1:00 a.m. friday in london and 9:00 friday morning in hong kong. you will see it only here on cnn. in the meantime, a short break. we're continuing to follow breaking news out of north korea. iran's president lashing out at saudi arabia for cutting ties with tehran. which country is the latest to take sides with saudi arabia. that's just ahead. also forces have scored a victory over isis in ramadi. but still face a challenge against militant fighters. at ally bank no branches equals great rates. it's a fact. kind of like ordering wine equals pretending to know wine. pinot noir, which means peanut of the night.

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>> an update now. north korea claimed it tested a hydrogen bomb. the country says the test took place at 10:00 a.m. local time wednesday saying it was perfect. those photos of kim jung-un signing the order for the test. u.s. officials say it may take days for verification. meanti meantime, south korea says it will cooperate with regional partners to make north korea pay a price for its test of a hydrogen bomb. paula hancox is in seoul, south korea, with more on this. just looking at the images being released by the north koreans of the leader authorizing this team. that's unusual in what is fairly a routine process, if you like, for the north koreaens when it comes to testing nuclear devices. >> yeah. we can see, john, that kim jong-un is certainly more media

savvy than his father. the fact that they got nies photos out and published them so quickly as part of their propaganda shows that he is a lot more savvy when it comes to this kind of thing. we know this order was issued by kim jong un on the 15th of december. that's according to the state-run media. that was a few days after kim jong-un had claimed that north korea possesses the hydrogen bomb, a claim which at the time was diffused by many, whether this jump in capability was realistic or not. we still don't know if it was, in fact, a hydrogen bomb as north korea claim. and then on january 3, kcna said kim jong-un signed that order. those are the photos that we are seeing. that would have been just three days earlier. and as you say, 10:00 a.m. local time this wednesday morning here in korea is when that test was

carried out. north koreans say it was tested perfectly. they say they have a right to defend their country. and in an announcement after that test, they say they were defending themselves against the united states. this is a justification they've used time and time again, saying the u.s. is hostile towards them and they feel the need to defend themselves. john? >> paula, thank you for the update. keeping a close eye on the news out of north korea. joining us now from denver, christopher hill, the former head of the u.s. delegation for the six-party nuclear talks with north korea. ambassador hill, thank you for being with us. there are no good option whence it comes to dealing with north koreans, there are only bad options. so in your opinion after this nuclear test, what's the least bad option. >> you got it. this is really bad news. anticipate i'm not sure saying we're going to respond with strategic patience is going to get us very far.

there's going to be an effort to tighten sanctions. there will be efforts in countries including china. i hope there will be some understanding that we have to somehow retard this program in the way that we did with the iranian program. and so i think we're going to have to really think very hard about what to do. because we can't just leigh this one alone. >> it sounds to me when you say retard this program, similar to what was done with the iranian nuclear program, essentially you'll have to talk to the north kore koreans. >> well, i wasn't talking so much about negotiation. i think we've been there, done that. i think it was strr important that we did that, because, you know, for a long time, the south koreans didn't feel we were serious. i think the real issue is we need to find ways to make sure that program doesn't move forward as quickly as it's been moving. and there are a number of ways to do that, technical issues. it's very sort of edgier.

these are tough measure, but i don't think we can just let this thing continue to grow. because if they really exploded a hydrogen weapon, that is a very serious matter and they're clearly getting close to putting it on a missile. >> do you think north koreaens actually have that technological ability to make the jump to a hydrogen bomb? >> many experts, as we pointed out, didn't think that they did. and yet, there are a lot of talented people there, unfortunately. and i would not be surprised if they developed that technology a lot faster than some of our experts think they can do. >> during your time dealing with north koreans, kim jong-il was the leader. now kim jong-un, his son is the north korean difference. do you see any difference between father and son here? >> well, i mean, i don't think either of them wins any kind of good guy prize.

i think they're both pretty awful people. that said, i think this kim jong-un is a much more reckless and in some respects dangerous leader because of his, i think, unwillingness to sort of calculate on the feeling of others. it is extraordinary to me, for example, the chinese, who have really staked a lot to get the north koreans not to do a test, he simply ignored them. and i think the chinese are going to have to stand up in their own defense there and not allow that to happen. i think we're dealing with a much more aggressive, nasty north korean leader than even his father, who i think would have fit those adjectives as well. >> ambassador, you touched on the role that china could play in all of this. every time something happens with the north koreans, a nuclear test or a missile launch or some other atrocity. it always comes back to beijing and what beijing is willing to do. what's your assessment right now? >> it always comes back to

beijing because that makes sense. they on vow lis have more leverage than anything else. but the rest of us frustrated what exactly they can do about it. they're more patient and try to do more negotiations. so i think we will have to go back to the chinese. i think we do need to emphasize the china they need to step up on this. >> ambassador, good to see you again. thank you, sir. >> pleasure. >> richard roth joins us now on the line. a special session called for the u.n. security council. what more do you know, richard. >> the security council will meet wednesday morning in new york at the u.n. closed-door session. a security council hustled meeting with ambassadors rushing in after illegal north korea

action. that will happen. and as chris hill just said, china will be put to the test perhaps behind closed doors. just last month, the security council only for the second time had a full discussion on north korea, the vagaries of the u.n. it wasn't really allowed to have this topic formally addressed. china defending north korea at that time saying the u.n. should not be interfering in the human rights situation in a u.n.-member country. there was a big vote in the general assembly. many countries voting against north korea for what a u.n. special inquiry commission on human rights in north korea said was a pattern of abductions, tortures, rapes, abuses. it's not all just about nuclear weapons, although that's the biggest threat. the u.n. seems to have come alive with condemnation of the north korea, but will that do anything to change the behavior of the leaders? not really sure about that. john? >> richard roth there on the line. you have a busy day coming up on wednesday. our senior u.n. correspondent, richard, thank you.

>> as if the tensions being caused by the north koreans are not enough, there are problems in the middle east as well. iran's president is lashing out at saudi arabia over the execution of a shiite cleric. the saudi government cannot hide its, quote, great crime by sering ties with tehran. the execution sparked protests across the northeast and diplomatic actions by neighboring nations. bahrain and the uae have also said it will cut back relations with the iranians. a u.s. soldier was killed during a joint u.s./afghan special operations mission in afghanistan. a pentagon official says the soldier came under fire as part of terrain and assist mission. two other u.s. service members and four other afghans were wounded. a mission is under way to try to rescue those forces still on the ground. iraqi forces have driven isis out of ramadi's city center, but a tougher fight could lie ahead

in iraq's second biggest city, mozul. jim siutto has more. >> reporter: desperate families escape the iraqi city of ramadi. shaken after months under isis control. iraqi security forces carry the dead. evidence both of isis' brutal rule and the intense battle to dislodge the terror group. the fighting continues to echo throughout the city. with isis still occupying small pockets. still today, u.s. officials deemed the taking of ramadi a success, calling it the most difficult task for iraqi forces since they were retrained and reorganized by u.s. forces following the retreat as isis raced to iraq from syria. >> even when the iraqis are taking casualties, taking over 1,000 casualties, they have continued to advance, they continued to fight, and they continued to liberate their territory. >> success in ramadi may

embold embolden forces to retake mosul. iraq's second largest city, captured by isis in june of 2014. u.s. officials say preparations have already begun as u.s.-backed iraqi security forces and kurdish pashmerga capture crucial territory around mosul, a city of some 2 million people. >> you have to think of it as a rolling kind of campaign to isolate and squeeze, learn more about the information that's happening there. >> mosul is very complicated. there's sa, sunni, arab, kurd. we want to make sure everything is synchronizeds and working together. >> the sectarian tensions further enflamed around the region as several sunni gulf states led by saudi arabia cut dib mattic ties with shiite iran. tensions stoked when saudi arabia executed a prominent shiite cleric, leading iranian

protesters to storm and burn the saudi embassy in tehran. >> we're encouraging a deescalation. anytime you have regional polarization or escalation, it obviously can cause difficulties and opens up seams for extremists on all sides to take advantage of the situation. >> u.s. and kurdish forces are advancing closer to mosul. but u.s. officials say there is nothing imminent about an operation to retake the city. mosul is much bigger. there are many more isis fighters and they are more entrenched. it will be a much more difficult operation than retaking ramadi. jim sciutto, cnn, washington. >> a short break here on cnn. we're continuing to follow developments. we'll also have an update on u.s. politics. ted cruz surging in the polls. now donald trump is calling his rival's candidacy into question. those details ahead. and also samuel l. jackson has a new role in trump's twitter war. we'll tell you what that is in a moment. [ cough ]

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>> we're following breaking news. north korea said it carried out a successful test of the hydrogen nuclear bomb. official says it could take days to determine if the underground test was, in fact, successful. north korea has tested plutonium devices in three times in the past. a hydrogen bomb would be a significant advancement of its capability. this is allegedly a picture of kim jong-un signing the order for the underground test. well, donald trump is now questioning whether a republican rival is eligible for the u.s. presidency in a newspaper interview. the front-runner says dead cruzcru --

ted cruz's canadian birthplace is precarious for the republican party. most legal experts believe cruz meets the constitutional requirement for president to be a natural-born citizen. meantime, mr. trump is taking aim at samuel l. jackson on twitter. in an interview, the actor said he played golf with trump a number of times and when asked who was the better golfer, jackson said he was for sure because he doesn't cheat. in response, trump tweeted this out. i don't know samuel l. jackson to the best of my knowledge. i haven't played golf with him and i think he does too many tv commercials. boring. not a fan. is donald trump going full birther here, this time against ted cruz. he seems to be grasping at traus. last year he told abc news

regarding cruz's citizenship, i hear it was checked out by every attorney every which way and i understand ted is in fine shape. but now he says senator cruz actually has a canadian passport. >> we always seem to forget that donald trump is a tv creation in the first place. this makes a great plot. you do a little recall from season one. and now you're going to come back for season two. >> but season two means that season one doesn't make much sense. >> ever watch "24" or any of those shows? it doesn't have to. >> now the response from cruz was pretty tepid. it was interesting. he's sort of not really willing to go mono y mono with trump. >> these two guys remind me in the buddy cop movie where is there's a little bit of tension but you know they're going to work together in the end. so they nfr little fights. it's not real.

they're all playing to the camera and trump -- ted cruz is like the amirosa of his apprentice. somebody you can kind of fight with but in the end you love the number it gets you. >> okay. and speaking of, you know, taking on people on twitter and twitter wars. trump proving he never lets anything go. you think a guy running for the republican nomination for the presidency of the united states would have a little bit more on his hands than to take on samuel l. jackson in an argument over who was a cheater in golf. >> first, didn't we always think the fate of the nation comes down to golf, right? because everything take place on a golf course. >> i hate golf. >> it's the law. at age 50, you have to start playing. again, trump is performing. he's not performing for me or for you. he's performing for every single camera. his whole career is to take place in front of a camera. >> should trump give up twitter

for his new year's resolution? >> of course not. that's like telling madonna to stop reinventing herself. never going to happen. >> little lefly on a very serious day. thank you. a short break here. up next, el nino weather hitting the west coast. we'll have a look at which areas are most vulnerable. this is brad. his day of coaching begins with knee pain, when... hey brad, wanna trade the all day relief of two aleve for six tylenol? what's the catch? there's no catch. you want me to give up my two aleve for six tylenol? no. for my knee pain, nothing beats my aleve.

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>> breaking news out of north korea, pyongyang said it conducted a successful underground test of a hydrogen bomb. if true, that would be considered a significant advancement over its three previous tests of plutonium nuclear devices. the move has been condemned by japan, south korea and the united states. north korea said it will not use its nuclear weapons as long as the u.s. respects its sovereignty. to some weather news now, a weather watch is in effect for parts of southern california. the biggest flood threat is in places where wildfires caused major damage last year. barren areas are especially

vulnerable. let's get more details now. >> this is a very, very interesting story, john. the national weather service in los angeles calling this next storm system a major weather event for wednesday afternoon as it really dives in towards this region. over 13 million people now under flood watches. december through february, this is precisely what you expect with the weather pattern. el nino set up and that's going to be what plays out for the next couple of days. look at the hateful totals. could get two to four inches over the next five days. favorable southwest facing mountains, six inches of hateful could come down. certainly flash flood potential in spots, but also a landslide, a mood slide potential because of burn scars across the region. i want to show you what happens because of the amount of hateful that's come down. incredible volume of water. talking about some of the wettest wet weather we've seen in years for a single day period. in san diego, almost two inches.

working your way towards the san diego region. roughly 1 1/2-plus inches of hateful. isn't it a fac in fact, on bhond, about 0.14 inches of hateful. wednesday or thursday could bring in two inches of hateful. this amount of the hateful took six months to happen last year. you compare that to the last couple of year, this is an impressive start for this year, john. >> an impressive start and much more is needed. thank you. and thank you for watching cnn news room live from los angeles. back with another hour of that breaking news coverage from north korea, the underground nuclear test in just a moment. you're watching cnn. branches equals great rates. it's a fact. kind of like reunions equal blatant lying. the company is actually doing really well on, on social media. oh that's interesting. i - i started social media. oh! it was my...baby.

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>> hi. we want to welcome in viewers in the united states and around the world. north korea said it conducted a test of a hydrogen bomb just a few hours ago. a new photograph showing kim jong un signing the